Take flight with 4505’s harissa chicken wings
Last week, Ryan Farr — of San Francisco’s 4505 Meats and 4505 Burgers & BBQ — shared tips, tricks and recipes for his signature barbecue ribs. Now he’s doing the same for 4505 harissa chicken wings, which are served with a housemade barbecue sauce at his burgers and ’cue hot spot in the city.
“Harissa is a North African spice that people generally associate with a paste,” he says, “but this recipe will let you make a dry seasoning powder to toss on your wings before popping them on the grill. These wings are perfect for a backyard picnic! The harissa dry rub adds a new dimension to the typical chicken wing.
“At 4505 Burgers & BBQ, we occasionally have these on the menu as a special. We love to serve them with our house white BBQ sauce, which is a great complement to smoked chicken of all kinds.”
White barbecue sauce is very common throughout Alabama and the Southeastern states, he says. “It’s a mayobased barbecue sauce commonly referred to as Alabama white sauce. While it’s great on all kinds of barbecue, it especially shines on smoked chicken and it’s stellar on chicken wings.”
Here’s how to do it at home:
4505 Harissa Chicken Wings and House White BBQ Sauce
HARISSA INGREDIENTS ½ cup sea salt
½ cup ancho chile powder
1⁄3 cup granulated garlic 1⁄3 cup paprika
1⁄3 cup cayenne 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon coriander 1 tablespoon cumin 1 tablespoon pepper 1 tablespoon chipotle powder
1 tablespoon caraway seeds
1 tablepoon red pepper flakes
1½ teaspoons fennel seeds
1½ teaspoons dried spearmint
HOUSE WHITE BBQ SAUCE INGREDIENTS
2 cups mayonnaise, preferably Hellmann’s or Best Foods 2 tablespoons pickled jalapeno liquid from a jar ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon ground coriander
CHICKEN Chicken wings, flats and drums separated Olive oil
½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves
Lemon wedges for serving
DIRECTIONS
Mix all the harissa dry-rub ingredients; set aside. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside. Preheat your grill to medium heat.
In a large bowl, toss wings with extra-virgin olive oil and harissa spice. Set on the grill in a single layer and cook, turning wings occasionally, until the skin is crispy, 20 to 35 minutes. Transfer the wings to a serving platter and top with cilantro. Serve with lemon wedges and House White BBQ sauce on the side.
— Ryan Farr, 4505 Burgers & BBQ